Ice resurfacing machine



.July 17, 1962 Filed May 4, 1960 F. J. ZAMBONl 3,044,193 ICE RESURFACINGMACHINE 6 Sheets-Sheet 1 i INVENTOR fed/Me J, ZAMBO/V/ AGENT July 17,1962 F. J. ZAMBONI ICE RESURFACING MACHINE 6 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed May 4,1960 INVENTOR Fed/(J Z4/1/50/V/ AGENT y 1962 F. J. ZAMBONI 3,044,193

ICE RESURFACING MACHINE Filed May 4, 1960 6 SheetsSheet 3 AGENT July 17,1962 6 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed May 4, 1960 July 17, 1962 F. J. ZAMBONI3,044,193

ICE RESURFACING MACHINE Filed May 4. 1960 e Sheets-Sheet 5 (Q W 'Q m i w{Q 6 Q \h *0 V m M) 3 K9 6 k j s a g;-

V Q O= N i Q I k a 5x \t N 1 h a} k 5; INVENTOR a] IPA/V6 J. ZAMEO/V/ Nmflw ,\J BY AGENT July 17, 1962 F. J. ZAMBONI ICE RESURFACING MACHINE 6Sheets-Sheet 6 Filed May 4, 1960 INVENTOR. ZA/I/EO/V/ m 6 z A N m r (Wsate 3,344,193 Patented July 17, 1962 free 3,044,193 ICE RESURFACINGMACHINE Frank J. Zamboni, Paramount, Calif., assignor to Frank J.Zamboni & Co., Paramount, Calif 21 copartnership Filed May 4, 1960, Ser.No. 26,788 Claims. (Cl. 37-13) The present invention relates to machinesfor cleaning off and resurfacing ice for skating purposes, and itsprimary object is to provide a new and improved machine of this typewhich takes a precision shaving cut on the surface of the ice by meansof an extremely sharp and rigidly supported blade disposed transverse tothe direction of forward travel, so as to remove any flaws orimperfections in the surface, and then collects the shaved ice anddischarges it to one side of the machine, where it can subsequently beremoved by suitable snow removing equipment. Means is also provided forrinsing the surface of the ice with wash water if the ice has becomesoiled, and for removing the dirty wash Water to leave a clean, freshsurface. Provision is also made for spreading a thin film of clean waterover the surface of the freshly shaved ice so as to fill in any cracksor cuts in the ice extending below the cutting edge of the blade. Inthis manner, the surface of the ice can be refinished to a clean,flawless condition in one pass of the machine. Such machines areparticularly useful on public rinks, or on rinks used for skatingcontests and the like, where the ice is exposed to rough treatment andmust be resurfaced frequently so as to enable performers to perform tothe best of their capabilities.

Another object of the invention is to provide an ice resurfacing machineof great operating capacity and flexibility, and one capable ofrefinishing and clearing large areas of ice with rapidity, so that therink is shut down from the very minimum period of time.

A further object of the invention is to provide a machine of the classdescribed which discharges snow and shaved ice to one side of the areatraversed, leaving the said snow and ice piled in a narrow ridge whichcan readily be removed by scrapers or other snow removal equipment. Inthis connection, an important feature of this invention is the provisionof a laterally extensible conveyor which can be extended for aconsiderable distance to one side of the machine, so as to discharge thesnow and ice well to one side of the resurfaced area, where it can beremoved -by machines without traveling on the newly resurfaced ice.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a machine of thistype which may be operated in a manner so as to deposit a narrow line ofshaved ice along one side of the area traversed, to form a line ormarker, constituting one edge of a lane for racing events. To accomplishthis object, the machine is provided with transversely disposed conveyormeans arranged to receive a portion of the shaved ice and to dischargethe same from one end thereof onto the surface of the ice. The saidconveyor means is movable laterally with respect to the machine frame,and can be shifted by the operator so as to place the ridge of shavedice accurately along a predetermined line, regardless of how the machinemay wander from side to side as it is towed over the ice.

A further object of the invention is to provide a new and improvedarrangement for supporting and adjusting the blade, so that the bladecan be accurately controlled for leveling adjustment, depth of cut, andangle of the blade with respect to the surface of the ice. Provision isalso made for applying spring pressure to the blade so as to urge theblade down against the ice, and also to resist any tendency of the bladeto nose over.

These and other objects and advantages of the present invention willbecome apparent to those skilled in the art,

upon consideration of the following detailed description of thepreferred embodiment thereof, reference being had to the accompanyingdrawings, wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a machine embodying the principles ofthe invention, showing the machine attached to a towing vehicle andraised to transport position;

FIGURE 2 is a perspective view of the machine, as seen from theright-hand side, with the machine lowered to working position;

FIGURE 3 is a perspective view of the machine, as seen from an elevatedviewpoint on the left-hand side thereof;

FIGURE 4 is a perspective view, as seen from the rear of the machine,showing both of the lateral conveyors fully retracted;

IGURE 5 is a perspective view, as seen from the front 'of the machine,showing both of the lateral conveyors fully extended in oppositedirections;

FIGURE 6 is a fragmentary sectional view taken at 66 in FIGURE 5;

FIGURE 7 is a longitudinal sectional view through the extruder at theleft-hand end of the lower worm conveyor; and

FIGURE 8 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view, taken adjacent theright-hand end of the shaving blade, and showing the leveling adjustmentfor the blade.

In the drawings, the ice resurfacing machine of the present invention isdesignated in its entirety by the reference numeral 10, and is adaptedto be towed over the ice by an automotive vehicle 11, of the four-wheeldrive utility type. While the towing vehicle shown in FIG- URE 1 is ofthe rather small type known popularly as the Jeep, it will be necessarywhen resurfacing large areas of ice to use a much bigger truck in orderto carry large enough tanks of water for washing the surface of the iceand for spreading a film of clean water on the freshlyshaved ice to fillin cuts and cracks. The machine 10 comprises a frame 12 supported at itsrear end on a pair of laterally spaced wheels 13, and having a drafttongue 14 at the front end thereof, which is connected to a trailerhitch on the vehicle 11. The wheels 13 are connected to the frame 12 bymeans of vertically swingable arms 15, and a pair of hydraulic liftcylinders 16 are connected between the frame 12 and arms 15 on oppositesides of the machine to raise the same to transport position as shown inFIGURE 1 Mounted on the rear end of the frame 12 between the wheels 13is a gasoline engine 20 which is connected by belt drives to twohydraulic pumps 21 and 22. Pump 21 supplies hydraulic fluid under highpressure for operating various conveyor motors to remove and dispose ofthe shaved ice, and also to operate the lift cylinders 16. Pump 22 isdesigned to handle a large volume of water at low pressure, anditsfunctions are: (1) to remove excess water due to melting of the ice whenthe temperature temporarily rises above freezing, and (2) to circulatewash water for washing the surface of the ice.

When the machine is in operation, the wheels 13 are raised by thecylinders 16, and the weight of the machine is slidably supported on thesurface of the ice by longitudinally extending runners 23 and verticalend plates 24,

the latter being mounted onthe frame 12 closely adjacent opposite endsof a transversely disposed blade 25. The runners 23 are connected to themachine frame 12 by means of lost-motion links 26, which permit alimited amount of vertical movement of the frame with respect to therunners. The weight of the machine is distributed between the runners 23and the end plates 24 by leaf springs 27. The leaf springs 27 aresupported at their ends on the runners 23, and a fulcrum bearing 28 onthe underside of a fore and aft extending frame member 12:: bearsdownwardly against the top of the arched leaf spring to transfer thegreater portion of the weight of the machine to the runners 24.

The blade is a heavy, rigidly braced and extremely sharp blade mountedon theframe transverse to the direction of forward travel. As best shownin FIG. 8, the blade 25 is bolted to the bottom of an inverted T-shapedbeam 29 of heavy steel'plate, and welded to the ends of the beam 29 justabove and slightly to the rear of the cutting edge of the blade 25 arelaterally projecting trunnion pins 30, which are journaled withinbearing holes in fore and aft extending lever arms 31. The front end ofthe lever arm 31 is journaled for vertical swinging movement about apivot bolt 32, which is fixed to the plate 24 some distance ahead of thecutting edge of the blade 25. The lever arm 31 extends rearwardly fromthe blade 25, and is pivotally connected at 33 to a nut-like member 34having an internally threaded bore to receive an adjusting screw 35. Theadjusting screw 35 extends upwardly through an opening in a horizontalplate 36 on the machine frame 12, and its top end is connected by auniversal joint 37to a shaft 38 having a hand wheel 39 at the other endthereof.

The blade 31 is supported at both ends by identical depth adjustingmechanisms, as described above, and there are two adjusting hand wheels,the right-hand wheel being designated by the reference numeral 39, andthe' left-hand wheel being designated 39'. When either one of the handwheels 39, 39' is turned one way or the other, the lever arm 31 at thatend of the blade is swung up or down about the pivot 32, raising orlowering the end of the blade. By adjusting the hand wheels 39, 39',either simultaneously or independently, it is possible to raise or lowereither end of the blade with respect to the other end, for the purposeof leveling the blade, or to raise or lower the blade without changingthe relative height positions of the ends with respect toone another, inwhich case the depth of cut would be increased or decreased.

The angle of incidence of the blade 31 is adjusted by means of a thirdhand wheel 40' mounted on the top end of a shaft 41 which is connectedat its lower end by a universal joint 42 to an adjusting screw 43 (seeFIGURE 6). The adjusting screw 43 is threaded through a nut member 44having trunnions 45 which are journaled in the sides of a steel bar 46,that is attached to and extends rearwardly from the T-shaped bladesupporting beam 29 adjacent the midpoint thereof. Thus, the angle of theblade 25 with respect to the surface of the ice may be increased ordecreased by turning the hand wheel 40 one way or the other, so as toobtain a smooth shaving out under varying conditions of ice hardness,and depending also upon the sharpness of the blade 25.

The adjusting screw 43=and nut member 44 act to hold the T-shaped beam'29 and blade 25 from turning about the pivot 30' in a clockwisedirection, as viewed in FIGS. 6 and 8. However, the screw 43 can belifted upwardly through the plate 36, since its sole support is theuniversal joint 42 which merely rests on the plate 36. Therefore, inorder'to prevent the blade 25 and its supporting beam 29 from nosingover in the counter clockwise direction, a pair of springs 4-7 areprovided (only one of them being visible in the drawings), each of whichis connected at one end to a book 48 that is attached to the top edge ofthe upwardly projecting flange of the beam 29. The other end of thespring 47 is hooked through the eye of an eye bolt 49, and the threadedstem of the eye bolt passes through a hole in a vertical back plate 50and has a nut 51 screwed onto the projecting end thereof. The amount oftension in the spring 4-7 can be varied by advancing the nut 51 on theeye bolt 49, or backing it off.

by means of heavy leaf springs 52, each of which is supported at one endon a bracket 53 on the inside of one of the end plates 24. The free endof the leaf spring 52 bears downwardly against one end of an L-shapedarm 54, the other end of which is journaled on the pivot bolt 32alongside the lever arm 31. The corner of the L-shaped arm 54 passesover and bears downwardly against the trunnion pin 30, and the downwardpressure of the spring 52 against the arm 54 is thus applied to theadjacent end of the blade to hold the same against the ice.

The amount of downward pressure exerted against the arm 54 and blade 25is adjustable by means of a screw 55 which is threaded through a lug 51projecting inwardly from the end plate 24. The bottom end of the screw55 bears against the top of the spring 52 intermediate the ends thereof,and as the screw is advanced, the spring 52 is bent downwardly, causingthe free end thereof to press against the end of the arm 54 withincreased force. In efiect, this causes a substantial portion of theweight of the machine to be transferred to the blade.

The shaved ice is removed from in front of the blade 31 by means of atransversely extending Worm conveyor 57 which is mounted on a shaft 58.The shaft 58 is journaled at its ends in bearings mounted on the sideplates 24, and the spiral blades of the worm conveyor 57 are interruptedin the center, with the blades on each side being of opposite direction,so that when the shaft 58 turns in the counterclockwise direction, asviewed in FIG- URE 6, the snow and shaved ice are moved inwardly towardthe center from both ends of the blade 25.

Fixed to the shaft 58 at the center portion thereof where the spiralblades are interrupted, are two sprocket wheels 59, around which chains60 are trained. The chains 60 pass upwardly through a vertical, enclosedconveyor housing 61, and paddles 62 are attached to the chains 60 atregularly spaced intervals. These paddles 62 pick up the shaved ice thatis brought in toward the center of the machine by the worm conveyor 57and elevate it to the top of the housing 61. At the top of the housing61, the chains 60 pas over sprocket wheels 63 fixed to a shaft 64, andthe shaved ice is thrown forwardly by the paddles 62 through ahorizontal extension 65 of the housing 61.

The elevating conveyor 69, 62 and worm conveyor 57 are both driven by ahydraulic motor 66, which drives a sprocket wheel 67 through a chain 68.The sprocket wheel 67 is mounted on the projecting outer end of theupper shaft 64 which, in turn, drives the worm conveyor shaft 58 throughthe chains 66. Hydraulic fluid for operating the motor 66 is transmittedthrough flexible hose 7 0, and operation of the motor 66 is controlledby a valve handle 71 adjacent the operaators seat 72.

At the front end of the housing extension 65 i a downwardly facing exitportion '73, which discharges the shaved ice or snow into a transverselyextending horizontal trough 74 having a worm conveyor 75 disposedtherein. The worm conveyor 75 is mounted on a shaft 76, which isjournaled at its ends on bearings 77 and 78, and the shaft 76 is drivenby a hydraulic motor 80 through sprocket wheels 81, 82 and chain 83.Hydraulic fluid for driving the motor 80 is transmitted through flexiblehoses 84, and operation of the motor 80 is controlled by a valve handle86 adjacent the operators seat 7 2.

The conveyor trough 74 is open at its right-hand end, as best seen inFIGURE 2, and the worm conveyor 75 normally discharges the shaved iceand snow through this open end onto the surface of the ice alongside thelane being resurfaced. In order to place the shaved ice and snow as faras possible off to one side of the cleared ice, the conveyor trough 74is extendable to the right-hand side (to the left, as viewed in FIGURE5) for a distance of about fourfeet. During the ice resurfacingoperation, the conveyor trough is extended to the position shown, and isretracted only when the machine is to be transported, or when it is notnecessary to discharge the snow so far off to one side.

Lateral movement of the conveyor trough 74 between the extended andretracted positions is accomplished by providing a pair of invertedT-shaped rails along both edges of the U-shaped trough 74, which run ontwo laterally spaced, fore and aft extending rollers 91. The rails 90are attached at their ends by spacers 92 to the ends of the trough 74,and these spacers provide a space between the top edges of the troughand the bottom sides of the rails 90, through which the rollers 91 pass.The rollers 91 are rotatably supported at their ends in bearings 93which are mounted on upright frame members 94.

At times it may be desirable to deposit at least a portion of the shavedice and snow in a narrow ridge to serve as a marker or line for one sideof a lane, as in the case of a racing event. To this end, the trough 74has an opening 95 (see FIGURE 6) in the bottom thereof, Which is coveredby a slidable cover plate 96. The cover plate 96 is moved from itsclosed position directly below the opening 95, to an open position bymeans of a lever arm 97. The lever arm 97 is mounted on one end of afore and aft extending shaft 98, which is journaled on the end of thetrough 74. Fixed to and extending downwardly from the shaft 98 onopposite side of the sprocket wheel 82 is a yoke 99, which is connectedat its bottom end to a link 100. The link 100 extends lengthwise underthe trough 74 and is connected to the cover plate 96. To open the coverplate 96, the operator pulls the lever arm 97 toward him, which causesthe cover plate 96 to be moved endwise from the position shown in FIGURE6, thereby opening the aperture 95 and allowing a portion of the shavedice and snow to drop into a lower conveyor trough 101.

The lower conveyor trough 101 is likewise provided with a worm conveyor102 mounted on a shaft 103, the ends of which are journaled in bearings104. The lefthand end of the shaft 103 projects beyond its bearing 104and has a sprocket wheel 105 mounted thereon, which is driven by a chain106 from a sprocket 107 on the drive shaft of a hydraulic motor 108. Themotor 108 is actuated by pressure fluid supplied by flexible hoses 109,and is controlled by a valve handle 110.

The spiral blades of the worm conveyor 102 move the shaved ice and snowto the left-hand end of the trough 101, where it drops through anopening 111 (see FIGURE 7) into the top end of a rearwardly anddownwardly inclined conveyor trough 112. -The trough 112 is attached tothe outer end of the lower worm conveyor trough 101, and is supportedthereon. A worm conveyor 113 is disposed within the trough 112, andincludes a shaft 114 which is journaled at its ends in bearings 115 and1 16. The top side of the trough 112 is covered at the lower end thereofby a plate 120, and the extremity of the trough is formed by an angledhousing portion 121 having a triangular exit opening 122. An invertedii-shaped hood 123 of steel plate is fixed to the end of the housingportion 121 and projects rearwardly therefrom to shape the packed iceand snow into a flatsided, prism-shaped ridge as it is discharged by theworm conveyor 113. If desired, the housing 121 may be omitted, merelyleaving the end of the conveyor trough 112 open so that the shaved iceis discharged directly onto the surface of the ice. In this case, theridge of shaved ice would not be packed and formed into a prism-shapedridge, but would merely be piled in a narrow ridge.

The upper end of the shaft 114 projects somewhat beyond the bearing 115,and mounted thereon is a sprocket wheel '125'which is driven by a chain126 and sprocket 127 from a hydraulic motor 128, which is connected inseries with motor 108. The motor 128 is actuated by pressure fluidsupplied by flexible hoses (not shown) and is also controlled by a valvehandle 110.

Owing to the fact that the machine 10 is towed behind the vehicle 11 andis not capable of being steered,

there is some tendency of the machine to veer to one side or the otherof the lane markers. To compensate for this drifting off course, thelower conveyor trough 101 is slidably supported on the machine frame 12for longitudinal movement between the retracted position shown in FIGURE4 and the extended position shown in FIGURE 5. As in the case of theupper conveyor trough 74, thereare two inverted T-shaped beams 131 whichare attached at their ends by posts 132 to the ends of the trough 101.The beams .131 are parallel to the top edges of the trough 101 and arespaced therefrom so as to allow rollers 133 to pass between them. Therollers 133 are rotatably supported at their ends in bearings 134 whichare mounted on frame uprights 135, and the beams 13-1 ride on therollers 133. When the machine is being used to lay down a marker ridgewith the conveyor trough 112, the operator usually stands on the frame12 at the lefthand side of the machine, where he can watch markersplaced on the ice for guidance. If the machine 10 drifts off to one sideor the other from the line of guide markers, the operator pushes thetrough to the right or to the left, so that the discharge end of theconveyor trough 1'12 follows the guide markers exactly.

In resurfacing ice that has cracked or been deeply cut by skate blades,it is necessary to fill in the cuts and cracks with water, whichsubsequently freezes to form a smooth, flawless surface. It is alsosometimes necessary to remove excess water due to melting of the surfaceof the ice when the temperature rises above freezing; and there areother times when it is necessary to wash off the surface of the ice toremove soil and restore its original fresh, clean appearance. Means isprovided for applying water to the ice, or for removing water therefrom,or both, as the need may be, and such means includes the pump 22 andassociated pipes 140, 141, 142, 143, and 144.

Pipe is a discharge pipe which extends from the discharge side of thepump 22 to a transversely extending pipe 140' extending across the backof the machine behind the operators seat 72. At each end of the pipe140' are valves and hose connections 146, to which hoses or nozzles maybe connected for discharging excess water due to melting ice, to oneside or the other. Connected into the discharge pipe 140 is a by-pass,or branch pipe line 141, having a valve which can be opened so thatdirty wash water picked up by the pump 22 can be carried forwardly anddischarged into a wash-water tank 152 on the towing vehicle 11. A lengthof flexible hose (not shown) may be connected at one end to the valve150, the said hose being carried forwardly along the draft tongue 14-and having its other end disposed so that it discharges the dirty washwater in to the tank 152, where it can be filtered and reused. Whendirty wash water is returned to the tank 152 in this manner, the valves145 are closed.

Clean wash water is taken from the tank 152 on the vehicle 11 and flowsrearwardly to the machine 10 through pipe 144. The rear end 144' of pipe144 is connected by a 90 elbow to a T 151, which is adapted to beconnected by short lengths of flexible hose (not shown) to 90 elbows 154at opposite ends of the horizontal plate 36. The elbows 154 areconnected to the top ends of pipes 155 (see FIGURE 8), which extenddownwardly to a point just above the surface of the ice, where theyterminate. Clean wash water is thus discharged onto the surface of theice behind the blade 25 adjacent opposite end-s thereof, and this waterspreads out over the ice and is swept along by a squeegee 156, which isattached to the bottom edge of the plate 50. V

The wash water discharged by'the pipes 155 tends to pile up somewhatahead of the advancing squeegee 156, and the dirty wash water is pickedup near the center of the machine by a suction pipe 157 (see FIGURE 6)which is connected by pipes (not shown) to the intake side of the pump22. The bottom end of the suction pipe antenna 157 is positioned'quiteclose to the surface of the ice, so that excess Wash water is readilypicked up. Suction pipe 157 also picks up excess water due to meltingice, in which case the blade 25 is tilted somewhat to'raise the cuttingedge and allow the water to pass under the blade.

A second tank 153 on the vehicle 11 carries fresh, clean water to bespread on the ice for filling in cracks and cuts, and to make a flawlessnew surface. Clean water from the tank 153 is carried rearwardly to themachine through pipe 143. The rear end 143 of pipe 143 is adapted to beconnected by a length of flexible hose (not shown) to a pipe 158, whichextends transversely of the machine along the back side of plate 152(see FIGURE 8). The pipe 158 has a plurality of longitudinally spacedholes 159 formed in its top side, through which the water spurts. Thewater then cascades down over the back side of the plate 5t) andsqueegee 156, and spreads out over the ice. A spreader in the form of apiece of burlap or the like may be dragged behind the machine to spreadthe water out more uniformly over the surface of the ice, if desired.

Water or other hydraulic fluid for actuating the motors 66, 80, 108 and128, as well as the lift cylinders 16, is carried in a reservoir tank166, which is mounted on the front end of the frame 12. The pump 21draws hydraulic fluid from the tank 160 through a pipe 161 and hose1'62, and discharges the fluid under high pressure through lines 163 tothe control valves for actuating the several motors. In addition to thevalves operated by valve handles 71, 86, 110 and 130, there is a fifthvalve operated by handle 164 for actuating the lift cylinders 16.Another pair of valve actuating handles 165 and 166 on the right-handside of the elevator housing 61 adjacent the top end thereof, controlvalves connected between pipes 143, 143' and 144, 144, to regulate thehow of water from the tanks 152 and 153 back to the machine 10. Thereservoir tank 160 is filled through a filler neck 165, and may bedrained through a laterally projecting drain pipe 166.

The operation of my improved ice resurfacing machine is believed to bemore or lessself-evident fromthe foregoing description and drawings.When the machine is to be transported from one place to another,

the frame is raised bythe lift cylinders 16 to the transport positionshown in FIGURE 1, in which condition the entire weight of the machineis'carn'ed on the wheels 13 and the trailer hitch connection. 'On theice, the machine is lowered to the working position shown in FIG- URES2-8, in which the weight of the machine is slidably supported onthe-runners 23 and side plates 24. The blade 25 is carried between therunners 23, and its depth of cut is accurately gauged from the surfaceof the ice by the runners. The cutting depth of the blade 25 is adjustedby the center handwheel 40, acting through the adjusting screw 43, whichalso changes the angle of the blade. Leveling of the blade isaccomplished by turning the handwheels 39 and 39", which raise and lowerthe ends of the blade. In some cases, it may be necessary to operateboth the center handwheel 4t} and the two handwheels 39, 39 in order tosecure a desired depth of cut with the blade at a particular angle.

Shaved ice and snow are removed from in front of the blade 25 by wormconveyor 57, which gathers. the ice and snow in toward the center of theblade, where it is picked up by the conveyor paddles 62 and elevated tothe top of the housing 61. At the top of the housing, the snow and iceis hurled forwardly, and drops into the conveyor trough 74, where it istransported to the right by worm conveyor 75, and is dischargedlaterally onto the ice, to oneside of the lane being cleared. Theconveyor trough 74 is normally extended, as shown in FIGURE 5, so as todischarge the snow and iceas far over to one side as possible.

If it is desired to leave a line or ridge on the'ice to define one edgeof a lane for racing events or the like, the cover plate 96 is withdrawnfrom beneath the opening 95, allowing snow and ice to drop into thelower conveyor trough 101. Worm conveyor 102 transports the shaved iceand snow toward the left-hand end of the trough 101, where it dropsthrough the opening 111 into conveyor trough 112. Worm conveyor 113moves the snow and ice downwardly and rearwardly, and extrudes itthroughthe opening 122 in the form of a ridge of generally triangular crosssection. The conveyor trough 112 may be shifted laterally so as todischarge the ridge of shaved ice along a line of markers regardless ofthe path followed by the machine as it is towed along the ice behind thevehicle 11, and such lateral shifting of the trough 112 is accomplishedby manually shifting the conveyor trough 101 on its supporting rollers133.

When it is desired to wash the surface of the ice, the valve handle 166is actuated to open the pipe line 144, 144' and allow water from tank152 to flow by gravity onto the ice. At the same time, valves 145 areclosed, and valve is opened (it being understood, of course, that thereis a flexible hose connected to valve 150 and extending forwardly to thetank 152). Pump 22 then picks up the dirty wash water and returns it tothe tank 152 for filtering and reuse.

When it is desired to spread clean water on the surface of the ice tofill in cracks and cuts, the valve handle is actuated to open the pipeline 143, 143 and allow water from tank 153 to flow by gravity onto theice through the spreader pipe 158.

While I have shown and described in considerable detail what I believeto be the preferred form of my invention, it will be understood by thoseskilled in the art that various changes may be made in the shape andarrangement of the several parts without departing from the scope of thefollowing claims.

I claim:

1. An ice resurfacing machine comprising a frame supported on runnersresting directly on the ice, means for propelling said machine over theice, a blade mounted on said frame transverse to the direction offorward travel, said blade being adjustable with respect to said framefor depth of cut and for leveling the blade with respect to the surfaceof the ice, and conveyor means for gathering the shaved ice from infront of said blade and removing the same, said conveyor means includingmeans for depositing at least a portion of the shaved ice onto thesurface of the ice in the form of a narrow, well-defined ridge to serveas a marker line.

2. An ice resurfacing machine as defined in claim 1 wherein said meansfor depositing a narrow ridge of shaved ice onto the surface of the icebeing resurfaced is movable laterally with respect to said frame so asto allow the said ridge of shaved ice to follow accurately along apredetermined path independently of the path followed by the frameitself.

3. An ice resurfacing machine as defined in claim 1, wherein saidmeansfor depositing a narrow ridge of shaved ice on the surface of theice being resurfaced includes a transversely disposed conveyor troughwhich is movable lengthwise thereof with respect to said frame, andanother conveyor trough connected to one end of said first-namedconveyor trough and extending downwardly and rearwardly therefrom, saidother conveyor trough receiving shaved ice from said first-namedconveyor trough and discharging the same at its rearward end onto thesurface of the ice.

4. An ice resurfacing machine as defined in claim 3, wherein saidlast-named conveyor trough has means at the discharge end thereof forshaping and compacting the ridge of shaved ice as it is deposited on thesurface of the ice.

5. An ice resurfacing machine comprising a frame supported on runnersresting directly on the ice, means for propelling said machine over theice, a blade mounted on said frame transverse to the direction offorward travel, said blade being adjustable with respect to said framefor depth of cut and for leveling the blade withrespect to the surfaceof the ice, conveyor means for gathering the shaved ice from in front ofsaid blade and accumulating the same, an elevator disposed to pick upsaid accumulated shaved ice and discharge the same at an elevated level,a first conveyor trough mounted on said frame transverse to thedirection of forward travel and disposed to receive the shaved icedischarged by said elevator, said first conveyor trough being open atone end to discharge the shaved ice laterally to one side of themachine, a second conveyor trough mounted on said frame transverse tothe direction of forward travel and disposed to receive at least aportion of the shaved ice carried by said first conveyor trough, saidsecond conveyor trough being operable to carry said portion of theshaved ice to the other side of said machine, and means mounted on thedischarge end of said second conveyor trough for depositing said portionof shaved ice References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATESPATENTS 652,311 Hou-rihan June 26, 1900 910,986 Blaisdell Jan. 26, 19091,148,954 Carr Aug. 3, 1915 1,268,314 Barton June 4, 1918 2,642,679Zamboni June 23, 1953 2,671,281 Salmen Mar. 9, 1954 2,763,939 ZamboniSept. 25, 1956 2,795,870 Leduc June 18, 1957 FOREIGN PATENTS 477,748Canada Oct. 16, 1951

